Science

A method to mould matter into complex shapes that involves the usage of “twisted” light has been devised by a team of researchers, at the University of Strathclyde. The new technique builds on the temperature-sensitive property of atoms. When atoms are cooled till, or close to, the absolute zero temperatures (-273 degrees Celsius), they stop

An astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) recently shared an “intriguing” daylight sight of a bright dot in the middle of a desert on Earth. “A bright dot in the Negev desert…so unusual to see human-made lights in day passes!” European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti tweeted while sharing three photos showing a

The movement of the eye, during sleep, may reflect where you’re looking in a dream, suggest a new study by researchers at the University of California. Rapid eye movement (REP) sleep, a period of sleep when your eyes move under your eyelids, has long been a subject of fascination for researchers around the world. While

NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) telescope has discovered more water on the Moon’s surface. The fresh findings of water have been made in the Southern Hemisphere of the Moon. The research was led by Casey Honniball, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The team have discovered water in the Moretus

Fifty-three years after the historic Apollo mission, NASA is all set to send astronauts to the Moon once again with the launch of its Artemis I on August 29. The combined SLS-Orion spacecraft will take off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral to send an uncrewed capsule around the Moon and back to

Without using sperm and eggs, as normally required, scientists have developed synthetic mouse embryos from stem cells. The model embryos feature beating hearts and even foundations for the brain and other organs of a mouse’s body. The achievement was made after years of study and is likely to help researchers unravel why some embryos successfully

The rising temperatures of the planet and its adverse effects on life on Earth have triggered actions globally to slow down or reverse climate change. The Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change, has set the goal to limit global warming below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. However, a new study suggests

The James Webb Space Telescope has, for the first time, detected evidence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet outside the solar system. The evidence has been spotted on the exoplanet WASP-39 b, which was discovered in 2011. Located some 700 light-years from Earth, WASP-39 b is a hot gas giant planet that

T-Mobile plans to use Starlink satellites to give mobile users Internet access in remote parts of the United States. The US wireless carrier plans to connect users’ smartphones directly to the satellites in the orbit thereby cutting out the need for cell towers. Elon Musk and T-Mobile chief executive officer Mike Sievert announced the partnership

Astronomers working on US space agency NASA’s Lucy mission may have spotted an undiscovered mini-moon orbiting an asteroid in the solar system. The mission is headed to study the Trojans — two groups of asteroids that orbit the Sun and are located on each side of Jupiter. While on its way to the space rocks,

Baidu has unveiled its first quantum computer called Qianshi. It is said to feature a 10-quantum-bit processor. The Chinese company also said that it has developed a 36-quantum-bit SoC as well. Qianshi is ready to be made available to external users as well, a report suggests. Quantum computing is said to be a form of

It has been previously concluded and confirmed that Moon has some amount of water on it. However, the technologies that indicated the presence of water are unable to tell if it is water, hydrogen ions or hydroxyl. To plug the gap, an engineer, from the US space agency NASA, has developed a tiny yet high-powered

Two astrophotographers have recently revealed an intricately detailed picture of the Moon after working on the project for two years. The image was created by stitching together more than 2,00,000 photos of the Moon over a two-year period. Most commonly, the Moon is seen as a large grey celestial body in the night sky. The new

Water transforms into ice upon freezing and evaporates at elevated temperatures. These are the commonly known properties of water. However, now a team of researchers have demonstrated that water splits into two different liquids under low temperatures. This new kind of phase transition in the water was first proposed in a study 30 years ago.

The arrow of time is a concept that defines the unidirectional flow of time. In simple words, it dictates that time only flows in one direction, from the past to the future. Despite the idea being decades old, scientists are yet to make considerable progress in unravelling the mysteries behind the phenomenon. A new study has

NASA is preparing for Artemis I, the launch of its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, along with the Orion spacecraft for astronauts, which is set to blast off on August 29. The US space agency is readying to test its flight system that is designed to send astronauts back to the Moon, decades after it completed its Apollo

Scientists have, for the first time, identified a novel property in a compound that makes it stand apart from the rest. It has been discovered that a compound named vanadium dioxide (VO2) behaves like a human brain and can remember previous external stimuli. Scientists have recently proposed the idea to use VO2 as an alternative

Researchers have successfully developed ‘acoustic tweezers’ that enable objects to be moved and levitated using just sound waves. While the team lifted small polystyrene balls off a reflective surface without having any physical contact with it, they could not achieve the desired stability. Fine-tuning their technology, the team claims they have crossed that hurdle. Using an